The Windows 10 powered Surface Phone from Microsoft has been in the rumors for so long time. Though there is no official indication from Microsoft about the Surface Phone becoming a reality, the latest rumors made the device to worth a wait. The Lumia smartphones running on Windows OS never looked like a serious competitor to the iOS and Android smartphones. One important problem with the Windows devices is the lack of apps. Not many developers are interested in creating a Windows app along with iOS and Android apps. Currently, Windows Phone occupies less than 1% of global market share.

While there is no certain source back this, the latest rumor is that the Surface Phone will be able to run both Android and iOS apps on top their own Windows apps. The device is expected to launch in first half of 2017 and might compete with several other upcoming flagship devices like Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6. Microsoft owning the surfacephone.com domain also made us believe a little more about the possible launch of Surface Phone. The kickstand which is popular on the Surface Tablets might be included on the Surface Phone as well.

We can expect some beefy specifications to give seamless experience while using continuum dock to work on a bigger display. Last year’s Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL will be the last flagship devices in the Lumia series. While there are many Android smartphones rumored to come with 8GB of RAM, the Surface Phone might be the first one to be made official. It might come powered by the upcoming Intel’s Kaby Lake processor. While the Kaby Lake processors run on 64-bit X86 architecture, we don’t think all the Android apps will be compatible.

While the Android apps can be somehow made run on the Windows OS, we aren’t sure how the iOS apps will be available outside of the Apple ecosystem. Take all these details with a pinch of salt and wait for the official confirmation in the coming months. Recently, Evleaks has posted the images of a Windows powered device that comes powered by a laptop-class Intel processor. While everyone thought that to be a Surface Phone, later it is revealed to be a Dell mini tablet with cellular connectivity feature.